The Armistice
by ladyslytherine
Summary: "You put up a shadow of yourself, acting as if you're despicable. Why are we fighting this non-existent war that in reality, concealed the truth? The truth is it's eating you, you're just afraid to let yourself feel." She watched him turned his head, his enigmatic grey eyes pierced into her own. He spoke tonelessly, "I'm not afraid. So turns out you don't know me at all, Granger."
1. Prologue: Nightmares

A/N: This is my first story and this is just the prologue of it. It is extremely short and there is not much going on but there will be longer ones coming. I will _try _my best to keep them in character but I can't be perfect. Special thanks to my beta: demonbarber14, because without her I think this would've been a mess of grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing characters from J.K. Rowling, I promise to give them back…_maybe_.

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"I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. Such is the strangeness of the human heart." - Yann Martel, Life of Pi

******Prologue: Nightmares**

**15th of October 1998**

_There was nothing but darkness. I was falling into a black hole of despair and I couldn't breathe. Abruptly, there was a bubbling ache in my chest and I started screaming. The voice beside my ear was full of contempt, the speaker watching me, helpless and feeble on the floor of the drawing room. _

_"I'm going to ask you again! This time, you_ will _tell me the TRUTH! Where did you find this sword? WHERE?" the voice shrieked with impatience in my ear. My fragile form of on the floor whimpered and screamed in reply._

_"I-It's just a duplicate. We just found it- PLEASE!"_

_Bellatrix Lestrange rose her wand from her tattered dress, she pinned me to the cold hard marble floor and leaned down slowly, menacingly. _

_"You stupid, filthy little mudblood, you're LYING! YOU TOOK THIS FROM MY VAULT!" She screeched with pure venom and impatience in her voice._

_ "CRUCIO!" she shouted. At first, I felt a sense of numbness that washed past me before a wave of pain came crashing down on me. I screamed, thrashed, shrieked, and clawed at the side of the floor helplessly. Bellatrix looked down on me with two black pools of nothing but revulsion, then she leaned closer. _

_"TELL ME THE TRUTH NOW, MUDBLOOD!" she spat, but her words were a blur to me; I suddenly couldn't feel or hear anything. There was nothing but pain; my body was aching everywhere as if someone had broken every piece of me. Then the process was repeated. She started speaking or shouting, I don't know; all I knew was that this torture would never end._

_Unexpectedly, someone grabbed my arms and I felt someone's thick hair tickling me. I finally stopped screaming, I realised that calling for help was futile and no one was there to save me. Then there was the pain again, physical pain. Bellatrix was_ carving _a word on my arm. Tears streamed down my face when I recognised her "__work". Written into my flesh was the word that labeled me and brought me to tears once before: _Mudblood. _Furious with myself for being so weak, I tried not to cry, but my fingers were numb and my head throbbed; I was beginning to lose it, my own sanity. Tentatively, I glanced up. Bellatrix rose eventually and I thought I heard her yelling, "Bring me the dirty globin, NOW! I WANT TO KNOW IF THIS LYING MUDBLOOD IS ACTUALLY 'TELLING THE TRUTH'!"_

_Staring at an empty space, I felt my body shaking, weakening and being sucked into a black hole again. I was slowly losing myself until the voice in my head screamed I needed to stay strong for Harry, for Ron and for everyone in the Order.__ I tried to shake my head at the voice and give into the pain, but my weary eyes stumbled upon a tall, lean figure. Draco Malfoy stood, unmoving and unemotional, beside a grand emerald engraved armchair. His pale blond hair and figure were a blur to me, but I could clearly see his indifferent pale grey eyes staring straight at me, as if he were silently sending me a message, urging me to get up or to simply do _something_. His expression was unreadable and indifferent, yet I knew there was a message behind those eyes._

_"Granger, get up. Potter and the Weasel need you, don't do this. Get up now."_ _For the first time**, **his voice was soft and encouraging. Tired of fighting, I closed my tear-filled, tired eyes, but Malfoy's voice was still whispering words of encouragement, urging me to get up. His voice sounded as if he was unconcerned, though I can't help but think he was whispering to me with a tone of anguish, desperation, and…fear._

_Right before I tried to rise, a ball of pain collided with me. I could barely feel my arms and legs. I was stuck, numb and falling, watching everything in my mind as nothing but obscured images. I watched myself from a distance, struggling and screaming to get the pain off my head, but as the screams increased, the more agonising it became. I watched myself, paralysed and exposed on the hard marble floor._

_The broken girl on the floor can't move, can't feel anything, can't think, and the worst part is, she can't even scream anymore._

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A soft gentle wind blew from the open window. The midnight air was cold but fresh. The young girl snuggled closer to her comforter and sighed dreamily. The dream was full of colours and fireworks; her family was praising and embracing her for winning the Holyhead Harpies' Quidditch game. Everybody was congratulating her, shaking her hand, and the crowd in the pitch was cheering her name in a constant roar of approval. She couldn't help but smile brightly and cheer in return. It was truly gratifying until a piercing scream pulled her out of her sweet dream. She opened her eyes and the screams continued to ricocheted to her ears. She scrambled out from her bed without even throwing a cloak to keep warmth and quickly ran to the next room to the source of the anguished screams.

The girl in the bed was shrieking agonizingly. She thrashed wildly around the bed and sweat trickled down her pale face. Her hair was messy and even wilder than the usual. Ginny grasped the girl's freezing hand and shook her gently awake.

"Hermione, Hermione, please. Wake up, it's just a nightmare." The girl did not respond, but continued to scream and shout incoherently. Tears were streaming down the brunette's face as she relentlessly shook her head. Frustrated, Ginny shook her harder until Hermione sat up and gasped for air as if she was underwater holding her breath, startling the ginger beside her.

"Oh Merlin, G-Ginny. I can't- I-It was horrible." Hermione was shaking; hands gripping the duvet cover tightly.

"Hermione, it's okay. It's over." Ginny soothed, patting Hermione's brown wavy wild hair but the poor, frightened, frozen girl was still shaking to her core. Ginny continued to comfort the terrified girl until she decided that Hermione was calm and composed enough to be left alone for the remainder of the night.

Suddenly, Hermione flung of her arms around her friend. Ginny gave a small start, but quickly recovered and patted her trembling friend's head and stroked her hair until Hermione spoke again in her quavering voice.

"Oh Ginny, it was h-horrible. It was the same nightmare again. B-Bellatrix, she was t-t-torturing me and calling me m-m-ud-"

"Hermione, no." Ginny silenced the quivering Hermione with her index finger.

"Don't say that word. It's over, that was during the war. Lestrange is gone." Hermione was still shaking and unsettled and suddenly, Ginny softened her tone of voice.

"Really, you have nothing to worry about." Hermione nodded gradually, but still seemed uncertain. She broke out from her reverie, wiped her tears away and tried hard not to stutter this time, "Thanks G-Ginny, I am really sorry that I woke you, though."

Ginny smiled in return, patted her friend's hair lightly. "It's all right Hermione, I'm your friend. You can tell me all about the nightmare again tomorrow. For now, go to sleep, alright?" She slowly stood up, walked out of the room, and shut the door with a click that made Hermione jump.

"I cannot believe this. I am most definitely _not_ afraid of a silly nightmare, considering everything I've been through," Hermione muttered to herself before she sighed in defeat and lay back down.

Hermione closed her eyelids and slept peacefully without the aforementioned nightmare disrupting her sleep again. After a short while, a flash of white light shone in her mind, but fortunately it was not the nightmare. A hooded figure materialised in the dream, facing away from her as she stood and watched from a distance. The dream was vivid, the blinding white color illuminating the hooded figure's presence. Hermione craned her neck in order to distinguish this unusual form, but was slightly afraid of going near _it_. As _it _slowly turned, she still could not identify the figure due to the thick black cloak wrapped firmly around _it._ She caught a glimpse of the figure's eyes as _it _lifted its head slightly. Hermione squinted, and gasped at what she saw. Those eyes…those eyes staring right back at her brown chocolate eyes were the pale luminous grey eyes that belonged to a certain blond she had come to know.

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A/N: So this is the POV of Hermione's interrogation with Bellatrix. Yes, i did change parts of Bellatrix's dialogue because I don't want anyone to sue me. Ahh plagiarism. *ducks* Do tell me what you think of it and promise full chapters later. Note: Yes, I spelled "realized" with a 's' rather than a 'z', it's British spelling the whole way through.


	2. I: A New Case

A/N: Ugh, I spent days thinking about this chapter, don't actually know how to approach this- Nonetheless, it's not very long and some parts_ are_ unnecessary but I need to project Hermione's daily life of the now. Thanks to demonbarber14 as my beta for correcting all my endless mistakes.

Disclaimer: Honestly, if I owned Harry Potter, do you think I'll be lying on my bed writing dramione fanfiction? No, instead I'll just write another whole damn book and torture you all. I'm only joking, I think.

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**Chapter 1: A New Case**

**10th of March 2001**

"Oh hey, you're finally awake, sleepy head," joked Hermione, all showered and dressed up in her usual business suit in the morning. Ginny with her both eyes half-closed shuffled across the floor, yawned and stretched her arms like a surreptitious cat. The drowsy girl gazed around the room, squinted and glared at the light glowing through the windows of the apartment. Hermione chuckled lightly as she watched Ginny dragged her feet to the windows, shut the curtains and stumbled slightly before dropping and settling down on the chair of the dining table.

She brought the breakfast she had made from the kitchen to the table, simply bacon and eggs as well as coffee. Placing one plate and a mug in front of Ginny as Hermione took a seat opposite her. "Mmmm, now this is what I call a perfect breakfast. Thanks Hermione," said Ginny but her words were slurred and indistinct.

Hermione grinned cheerfully and replied, "You're welcome, Gin. You know, I'm really delighted that after a year of living with me, you finally appreciate the scrumptious taste of Muggle food."

"Well, you can't say no to Muggle food especially when it's with umm- coffee, right?" smiled Ginny sheepishly and started eating. Hermione took the Daily Prophet newspaper beside her in one hand whilst eating with the other. She was looking at the latest news: "Macnair, former Death-eater finally caught and sent to Azkaban!" "Death-eater Nott Sr.'s wife fight for her husband's _rights_ to free him from Azkaban." "Finnigan speaks out his experience of the war!".

Exasperated and irked by the headlines all regarding _Death-eaters and the war, _Hermione harshly flipped the paper to the sports section, ignoring the front page blatant headlines. Ginny stopped eating, glanced up when she heard her roommate muttering under her breath, "…no good writers, do they have to be so unambiguous? War, war, war, that's all they write about!" Her roommate huffed with annoyance whilst flipping the newspaper again as Ginny snickered with amusement.

"Really Hermione, you can't expect the Daily Prophet to be any better now…You don't have to get so worked up about it." The ginger extended her hand and lightly patted on Hermione's fist on the table. She took her mug and took a sip of her coffee, she remembered when Hermione once gave her this and she thought it was poison and mud. Laughing softly at the ridiculous memory, she shook her hand, stood up and went back to her room to refresh herself.

The brown-haired girl was still clutching at the papers and skimming through the words, reading each news quickly. She flipped the paper to the next section when she saw a column with a headline that caught her attention: "Malfoy Jr. finally revealed himself to the public after the long time of isolation." Hermione still remembered the first time when she read the last news article about the Malfoy family, it was a year ago stating that the Malfoys were free from charge or Azkaban due to Narcissa's lie to Lord Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and some others arguing that the Mafloys should be punished even though they defected. Then there was the one when Draco Malfoy called off his engagement with Astoria Greengrass unexpectedly out of the blue which was the last news Hermione have ever heard from the Malfoys until now.

She was arguing with herself whether if she should read the short article or not, ever since her dreams last night, she tried so hard to ignore any news regarding the relations of the Malfoys yet she was immensely curious. Defeated, Hermione read on, "A year ago, Malfoy Jr., Draco Malfoy the son of the former death-eater Lucius Malfoy and also a defected death-eater himself _disappeared _from the public and social society, detached himself from the Ministry of Magic after calling off his engagement with the Greengrass family's youngest descendant, Astoria Greengrass who is currently dating Theodore Nott, former friend of Draco Malfoy himself." She came to an abrupt halt and groaned at the sight of the writing. _Of course there must be some gossip, _she thought with distaste. Continuing reading and ignoring all the minor useless details, "…It was reported that Malfoy Jr. was spotted at the Flourish & Bolts in Diagon Alley, a source informed that Mr. Malfoy was looking through the books during the potions section. Currently, many people are perplexed and interested on the reason why did Mr. Malfoy decided to make his unanticipated appearance _now _after one year of hiding…"

Hermione sighed, folded and placed the Daily Prophet at the table. She was wrapped around her own mind, asking the same questions like the writer of that article. _Why did he come back? Why now though? What is his purpose…?, _she thought with inquisitiveness. _Wait, why am I even thinking about him? _"Umm Hermione, sorry to interrupt your important train of thoughts but are you done?" Ginny's voice brought Hermione back to reality; she was standing by the side of the table and holding a plate with a confused look plastered on her face. Ginny was dressed up in her full Seeker Quidditch uniform and gear.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, I was just in the middle of…something. I'm done with breakfast," said Hermione, embarrassed that the _important train of thoughts _Ginny referred to were concerning _Draco Malfoy. _She lifted her plate and mug to Ginny and she heard Ginny mumbled a "_Scourgify_." cleaning the dishes spotless and effortless.

She grabbed her black cloak folded on the chair beside her, draped it over her shoulders before walking towards the fireplace with Ginny. The girls both took some floo powder in one hand, Ginny proceed moving to the fireplace and almost threw the powder before saying to her, "I guess I'll see you later, Hermione. Have fun _working_."

"Alright Ginny, have fun in practice!" replied Hermione and caught a glimpse of Ginny's mischievous grin before Ginny tossed the powder to her feet and disappeared leaving green trace of smoke. Then, Hermione did the same but her destination was to nonetheless the Mystery of Magic.

Brushing off the dust on her shoulders of her work attire, Hermione stepped out from the black marble fireplace of the Floo Network. The Ministry of Magic was occupied with many wizard and witches operating in and out everyday. Ever since the war ended two years ago and the boy who lived killed Voldermort, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt ordered a new reign and governance. Prejudice and blood statuses were not as prominent as before yet there were still some pureblood families whom showed their disapproval of half-bloods and muggle-borns witches or wizards. Hermione sighed and jumped at the sight of paper aeroplanes flew past mere centimetres of her face. She shook her head slightly at the aversion of whoever who controlled the interdepartmental memos and made a mental note to rebuke against that department.

She walked from the Atrium Hall busied with wizards and witches moving around, stopped at the end of the hall and waited patiently for the lifts to be available. She stepped into the lift, pressing lightly on the button of the second floor. As the gateway of the lift was about to close, Hermione heard a distant shout: "NO! Someone! Please hold!" She fumbled with the buttons before the gate was opened again then she saw a witch rushed in and said, "Second floor, please."

The witch had red flaming hair and was rectifying her attire. Hermione recognised her immediately and exclaimed, "Oh Susan! How are you?"

Susan was still in the middle of distress and catastrophe but mindlessly said, "Ah-Oh Hermione, hello there. Oh, I'm fine, I'm just somewhat late for work." The lift suddenly jerked backwards, causing Susan to slipped but Hermione fast with her reflexes, grabbed Susan's arm and steadied her. They were lifted up again in fast motion, shortly a voice announced, "Second floor, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Both girls strolled out before the gate was shut and the lift descended back to the Atrium Hall again. Susan was still lost in her bewilderment before lifting her head, "Well then, I guess I'll see you later Hermione. Oh Merlin, I'm so late!" Hermione, smiling faintly, waved back at the anxious girl but she was already running to the Improper Use of Magic Office. Without a hurry, Hermione walked in a different direction, down the cold empty marble hallway. The hallway to the offices were always so unwelcoming, Hermione shuddered a little. When she reached the Auror office, she came to a sudden stop. Smiling and nodding familiarly at the receptionist, she went to the room with a gold sign engraved with the words, "Harry Potter, head of the Auror Office"

Gently, she knocked at the door after a short reply from the room, "Come in please." She twisted the knob and was in the sight of the room. Sitting in the black mahogany desk, occupied by the paper works was none other than the famous Harry Potter himself. "Hullo Harry, paperworks?"

Harry, finally showing a sign of his acknowledging Hermione's presence, said, "Hey Hermione, yeah." Harry rubbed his forehead wearily and traced over his legendary lightning before continuing, "And I thought becoming a Head Auror would not require so much writing and reading work."

Hermione disapprovingly tsk-tsked and scolded him playfully, "You know how significant and difficult becoming an Auror is, their job is one of the most dangerous occupations in the M-O-M. I thought you knew better than that."

Harry cut in, "Yeah yeah, all the glory and nonsense. Really Hermione, you don't have to lecture me about my job. I don't want my hears falling off, _Mother_." She glared at him and Harry laughed heartily.

Hermione huffed in annoyance but a smile threatened to show so she responded, "Ha-ha Harry, you're hilarious. Can I have my assignment now, _son_?"

Harry amusingly shuffled his papers, took a folder and handed it to Hermione's outstretched hand. She accepted it without hesitation but frowned slightly at the sight of the folder, it was so incredibly _thin. _Curious, she opened the folder and jerked when her eyes caught the sight of the name of her new assignment. "_Draco Malfoy_? Harry, really!" shrieked Hermione with outrage and aversion.

Harry winced at her sudden burst of rage, adjusted his glasses and murmured under his breath, "'Mione, calm down."

She spluttered, "R-really Harry, calm down? This is not an assignment, it's pathetic. Draco Malfoy out of all people!" She tossed the folder to Harry's desk and crossed her arms waiting. Tiredly, Harry tried to reason with his friend, "You know I don't get to choose whoever the next case is and apparently, Kingsley wants me to investigate Malfoy." Hermione was still standing with her arms crossed and showed a dissatisfaction at Harry's attempt of reasoning. Harry sighed again, "Didn't you see the news? Malfoy is back and we have to find out why."

"Yes, but he defected as well as the rest of the Malfoys, remember? You were the one who actually confirmed that Narcissa Malfoy lied to protect your life in their testimony." replied Hermione firmly.

"Of course I remembered but…after a year of his disappearance, Malfoy came back because he has a purpose and Kingsley wants to know what his motive is. We can't be sure if he is considered harmless." Harry briefly smiled and looked at his friend with a pleading message in his emerald eyes.

Hermione was shaking her head but she knew Harry had won her over, especially with that soft innocent pleading look in his eyes. "Oh all right, stop doing that. I don't want to be defeated easily like Ginny."

She took the folder reluctantly and tucked it in her case whilst Harry added, "Thanks 'Mione, you're the best."

She chuckled and replied, "Oh I _know_. I guess I'll see you later in lunch, Harry." She waved at Harry and he nodded once before she exited from his office.

After her departure from Harry's office, Hermione walked to her own but as she was reading her file, she bumped into a certain someone. "Merlin, I'm so sorry." cried Hermione apologetically. She muttered softly, "Wingardium Leviosa." and the papers were levitated slowly from the ground like soft feathers before Hermione piled them together and gave them to the person she knocked into. In fact, the wizard was a specific red head she knew, "Oh Ron! It's you!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Who else could it be? Thanks 'Mione." replied Ron, chastened and took the neat pile of papers from her hands.

"Ron, what are you doing here standing outside my office?" said Hermione whilst twisting the knob of her office. She continued, "Don't you have Quidditch practice today? I just saw Ginny off to hers yesterday, there's the League coming up and your team hardly can compete with it. Don't you realise that practice is important? Not that I object _not _practicing since Quidditch is such a dangerous sport, regardless. Although, you know, if you want to be the keeper of Chudley Cannons, you have to be at least dedicated to the job. I thought you wanted to attain the place of Team Captain, you can't skip practice and allow what-was-his-name? Oh! Galvin Gudgeon to just take the lead of everything. Ever since you declined the job of becoming an Auror, which is such a shame-" Hermione continued to lecture Ron about Quidditch practice, took her time walking to her desk, obtaining her books and folders. She started taking her books out from her charmed bag one by one, continued, "-since an Auror is one of the most significant jobs in the world yet you declined. Really, Ron. I still can't get over the fact that you turned th job of becoming an Auror. Nonetheless, I-"

Ron, annoyed and impatient, interrupted her babbling, "Hermione, I hate to interrupt but bloody hell, I'm just here to see _you_."

Hermione, baffled but blushing when she realised how Ron emphasised on the particular word 'you', finally looked up from her profound reading, "Oh. W-Well, why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

Ron paused and rolled his eyes before collapsing to a chair, "You didn't _actually_ gave me a chance of speaking."

Blushing even harder, Hermione recovered and said, "I'm sorry, Ron. But you _do_ have practice to attend to, don't you?"

Scratching his head and pursed his lips together, "Of course I do but ah-" Suddenly he stopped, looked down at his hands and extended his hand of papers to Hermione, "I saw Percy on my way here and he told- no, _ordered_ me to give these to you. Said it'll help you with your case or something. He is still acting so bloody high and mighty." Ron huffed with irritation.

She took the papers from his hands, looked down and saw the papers of which they were records of the Malfoy expenses and sightings for the past 3 years. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Ministry monitoring Malfoy's moves, _Why is the Ministry so curious about Malfoy…? They're still tracking him? _"Speaking of cases, who is your next unlucky bloke of your mission?" Ron spoke, looking at Hermione intently and waited. Hermione widened her eyes even more and spluttered at the thought of Ron discovering her next case who was none other than - Draco Malfoy - the initial enemy of the trio since they started enrolling in Hogwarts. "W-w-what?", she stammered ungraciously.

Ron pointed at the papers in her hands, "Your case, 'Mione. Who is your next _victim _under your surveillance?"

"Oh! Ah well, it's…D-no. It's-ah- Well it's classified, Ron. I can't tell you. It's absolutely confidential," stuttered Hermione before spitting the few last words stuck in her throat.

Ron frowned and said with a tone of surprise, "What? You can't tell me? Why not, who is it? He's not that dangerous enough to be considered as a 'classified' case."

Hermione deeply sighed and echoed her last sentence, "I just can't tell you, Ron." Turning to her last resort, "Uh- Why don't you go and ask Harry?"

Ron was perplexed by Hermione's stammering tone of voice and decided to change the topic, "Fine. Hey 'Mione, you're still coming tonight, right?"

She was confused, looked at Ron intently and asked questioningly, "Tonight?"

"The restaurant, our umm- date…?", he replied, his voice croaking with embarrassment.

Startled by the sudden change of topic, she was still lost, "Oh of course Ron, why would you ask such a question? Regardless, you're still here. Aren't you going to practice still?"

Ron stood and went to the door but he was clutching the knob, paused and turned, "Uh- guess I'll see you tonight then."

Hermione flushed delicately and steadily replied, "Yes, I'll see you then."

When Ron was gone, she leaned back at her comfortable sumptuous chair. After the incident in the war, when Ron grabbed Hermione and kissed her intensely yet very ardently, she was shocked but also delighted that he finally managed to gather the courage to kiss her. She smiled at the contented memory, how even though at that time, war was ongoing around them, they still managed to breakthrough unwaveringly _together_. It was uncomplicated, she felt completely unaffected moments after the kiss. Even when Hermione and Ron both ran around, hands clasped together tightly, she felt exuberant, sublime; she felt like she could _fly. _Although, weeks past and they haven't really mention or discuss the subject of their relationship. Every time Hermione tried to talk to Ron about it, he always simply waved it off and changed the subject. She felt like Ron was avoiding the matter because they both have never been on this situation before.

Ron was her best friend, other than Harry himself but the trio have been through many circumstances and complications together, thick and thin. Now, Ron was not considered as her friend but instead her _boyfriend_. The mere thought of that made Hermione shudder with delight as well as fear. She feared that perhaps this relationship might not work, perhaps they might even endanger their friendship. Hermione was glad that Ron asked her out but some of the times, they tried to behave as a couple, it only constructed an atmosphere of tension and uneasiness.

She shook her complicated thoughts away and chanted her daily mantra, "Focus. Space. Clear thoughts, clear mind." Hesitantly, she reached and clutched the folder, she took out the papers and rearranged the stack of papers on her desk. After Hermione cleared her desk and the layer of dust, she wrote on a piece of paper: "Malfoy's records" before focusing on the documents. Apparently, Malfoy supposedly disappeared a year ago but in 1997, he was occupied with problems with Malfoy Inc. which was inherited from his father, Lucius Malfoy naturally after he resigned as an official in the Ministry of Magic. She shuffled the paper and the title was scripted, 'Malfoy Inc. charges.' Moving her eyes downwards, she nearly jumped out from her chair. Hermione's eyes was resting at the amount of revenue: 100,900 galleons. "Oh wait, that's not over exaggerating for a year…" She glanced up to the top of the paper and this time, she yelped before cupped her hand over her mouth quickly. Ostensibly, the units were not per year, it was for every galleon in _millions_.

"Merlin, wouldn't the Malfoys considered as the richest family in the entire world?" she muttered to herself. As far as one knows, the Malfoy Inc. was only a real estate business but she never knew that selling properties would earn that ridiculous amount. Hermione was annoyed by the fact that Malfoy is currently handling a company which probably is the largest and earns the most out of all the companies in the Wizarding world or maybe even in the Muggle world as well. When she glanced at the other papers, she realised that the Malfoy Inc. revenue was falling and currently, their latest which was 1999 held 67,560 galleons in millions. She thought that possibly since his year of absence, he could possibly be in the country to raise and increase the revenue of his company. _Or maybe, just maybe he was back because his year of disappearance, he might be recruiting former death eaters, _she thought recklessly. She scoffed and was embarassed that she jumped into conclusions so quickly. If Kingsley wanted to investigate Malfoy and his actions then Hermione has to find out what they are.

Tiresomely, she rubbed the back of her neck, she was uncertain how to approach this case. Generally, if she followed her own procedure which was going through the person's family background, guessed accurately at his/her next motive and investigate the person's latest sightings before calling extra Aurors to capture the person. However, since Hermione was only ordered to observe and discover Malfoy's reason of return, it wasn't as complex as her previous assignments. Yet, she couldn't just walk up to Malfoy and say, "Hey Malfoy, how are you? Oh, why are you returning? Do you still feel like a death eater? Possibly feelings deep inside that tells you to kill muggle-borns on the streets?" Hermione virtually screamed inwards at her mind for thinking such absurd ideas.

Draco Malfoy wasn't a pleasant man, he certainly wasn't exactly _nice_ to Hermione when he was a boy as well, considering the years of taunting and insults that he threw everyday. He was the epitome of a bad character, he was always malicious and obnoxious at the abusive remarks he hurled when they were in Hogwarts. The Malfoy _now_ certainly wouldn't be any different than he was back then. Hermione was confused because she didn't know how to approach Malfoy. He wasn't her friend, he was her enemy as well as Ron's and Harry's. But he wasn't a death eater, he _defected_, therefore she shouldn't feel the need to use her wand and hex him. Realising she couldn't come up with any conclusion on her method, she settled with just investigating his actions for now and nothing more.

Hermione stood up and get a hold of the papers before securing them into her bag. She decided to go to lunch instead and waited patiently outside Harry's office. Once Harry came out, she grabbed his arm and steered him away to the floo network. With a burst of green flames, they both stumbled and caught their balance. Harry grunted when he glimpsed at their surroundings, "The Leaky Cauldron. Really, Hermione? Can't we go to somewhere else?"

Hermione walking in and said over her shoulder, "No, unless you would like to eat in a Muggle restaurant today." They draped their outer-robes on the chair then the enchanted chair glided backwards as they sat on the massive dining table.

Tom, the innkeeper came and squinted sideways at Hermione and Harry before asking, "Order?" Harry, rubbed his forehead and said, "A butterbeer and a lasagne, please."

Frowning, Hermione asked, "A butterbeer, Harry?" He only glanced down in reply and Hermione shook her head before requesting pumpkin juice and jacket potato.

She was going to question Harry if he was feeling alright until unexpectedly, a man tapped on Harry's shoulder. Before Harry could even recover, the man was already shaking Harry's hand and saying, "Thank you, Harry Potter. It's such an honour to meet you. If it wasn't for you, we'd all be dead right now." The man laughed loudly and Hermione only lifted the side of her lips as a reproving smile. After the war, Harry's fame was greater than ever. When he killed Voldermort, the Dark Lord, the Daily Prophet was bursting with incessant news of how Harry was 'The Chosen One' and 'The Boy who lived defeated the Dark Lord!" Those news were only fuel to the fire of Harry's fame. Expectedly, the Daily Prophet also interviewed other Hogwarts students who took part in the battle but Harry was the highlight of the front page for weeks.

The man in the bar was still talking continually about him and his family were incredibly grateful of Harry's bravery and how Voldermort's defeat brought joy to his family and everyone. Hermione rolled her eyes, seeing as Harry was just nodding to the man's words and she decided to step in, "_Yes_, Harry's courage and strength finally defeated Voldermort. We are all in debt and obliged to Harry's actions. Now, if you don't mind, Harry and I have certain things to discuss as _Aurors_."

The man thanked Harry once more before shuffling off and exited the Leaky Cauldron. "Thanks 'Mione, if you haven't done that…" started Harry with gratitude.

"Yes, if I haven't done that then he would just be droning off until lunch hour is over." spoke with clear chagrin in her voice. "So…Harry, what's going on? I can tell you have something in your mind." Harry only smiled sadly at her, he looked down at his hands and pushed his round glasses back with his index finger when it slipped on the bridge of his nose. Hermione sighed empathetically, she knew Harry that he would take his time before answering her questions. She knew that Harry was still caught in the realism of the war era, even with Voldermort gone; he can't help but feel remorse and despondent for all the loss and pain he had to endure before _his_ downfall.

Without getting the answer she wanted, Hermione simply slipped into her own wandering thoughts. She was thinking about tonight with Ron when she broke out of her contemplation, "'Mione, I'm sorry. There's just- with everything that's going on and there's just so much to do. I don't- I just don't feel…" Harry started, still avoiding eye contact with his best friend. He paused, struggling with finding the word he wanted.

There was an absolute unwanted silence between them until _Hermione_ quirked an eyebrow and intercepted, "…like yourself?" Harry lifted his gaze and their eyes met as if he was communicating through each other's thoughts.

"It's alright Harry, we all feel that way sometimes. But-" Hermione grabbed his hands and gently squeezed them. She continued, "-you _must_ tell me if there's anything wrong. I'd thought that 9 years of experience was enough to convince you that Ron, you and I are all in this _together. _You're not alone, Harry. You never _were_." Hermione softened her chocolate eyes and smiled before squeezing Harry's hands once more and letting them go.

After her innovative talk, Harry eventually pulled a convincing carefree smile. "Thank you, that made me felt a bit better. Though, the hand squeezing was a bit too much, don't you think?"

Hermione playfully shrieked, "A bit? REALLY, HARRY POTTER?" Unconsciously, she stood up and slapped her palms on the table, "I just made you smile again! I was trying to cheer you up, obviously my efforts are _not_ appreciated. If you know what's good for you, take that back." She glared daggers at Harry who stared back up at her but he only laughed. Hermione, shocked at the sudden burst of laughter and screeched, "How dare you laugh at me? For goodness sake, stop laughing! Everyone's watching!"

Hermione sat down but still playfully glared at her best friend who sat opposite her. She was aware that the fact everyone in Leaky Cauldron was staring at them both so she grabbed his arm, leaned forward and scolded softly, "Harry Potter, you stop that laughing _right now_. I know you're just laughing on purpose! Stop it!" Harry obediently stopped his laughter but he still had the mischievous grin plastered on his face.

Inside, Hermione was delighted that Harry was finally his old self but in reality, she put an act as if she was angry at him for laughing at her. "Alright, alright. Hermione, you _are_ honestly the brightest witch of your age."

She beamed at him and smiled gratifyingly, "Oh, I_ know_." The best friends both had their meals when they arrived and Apparated to the Ministry of Magic before continuing their regular routine work day.

* * *

A/N: I will probably continue this from Hermione's POV but still written in third person…just more projected thoughts from Hermione. I don't know how this will end up but I hope that gave you a taste of what's coming after. Reviews please!


	3. II: The Date and Outbreak

A/N: So, there're two parts to this chapter: The Date and the Outbreak. I merged two parts into one chapter mainly because I can't separate them into chapters since they are both really short anyway. Oh yes, the _outbreak_. I wonder what that is... Don't worry, there won't be a lot of Romione romance stirrings besides, I'm a hardcore dramione shipper. Thanks to Rebecca for editing this, if not then I'd probably have a thousand messages screaming at me for my incorrect use of tenses or spelling.

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, if you sue me, you will get nothing but my school assignments because that is honestly all I have.

* * *

**Part I: The Date**

Hermione was submerged in her obtruding thoughts, her jaw resting on her palm and the other hand mindlessly swirling her wine glass. She pondered what to do about the Malfoy situation and chastised herself for not telling Ron about it. She was still having the incessant, endless battle with herself over whether or not she should approach Malfoy. Draco Malfoy had taken the mark and became a death-eater. He had served the Dark Lord, but after the war, he was no longer labeled as one of Voldemort's followers. Hermione still had her suspicions, however. There was a persistent nudge in her mind apprising her that regardless of whether or not Malfoy was a death-eater, he was still a common, despicable pureblood; he evidently did not support the current Ministry of Magic, especially after the enforcement of the Muggle-born laws. Hermione continued to contemplate, clueless of Ron, who was inspecting her closely, his brows furrowed in seriousness. Immediately, Hermione snapped out from her thoughts as Ron coughed politely and shifted her gaze to meet Ron's.

His ears turned remarkably red and he faltered, "Uh... You look beautiful by the way, Hermione." Her date immediately peered his eyes away as Hermione blurted out a small 'Oh!' At once, her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. She glanced down at her clasped hands and smiled awkwardly at them. Whenever Ron commented on or complimented her appearance, she would unintentionally blush or look away, unable to handle his flattering remarks.

Before their date, Hermione pulled on a black, one shouldered silk v-neck dress that framed her body. It was an elegant piece of fabric, which loosely fitted above her knees. It hugged her curves, but not too tightly, allowing her to look graceful, yet prim and proper. Ron himself was tugging at it his collar. His white button-down, black tie, and vest weren't part of his usual attire because he/they didn't attend many formal occasions. Because of that, Hermione was incredibly pleased that he showed enough dedication to be dressed properly for their date. The couple dined at a grand Muggle restaurant, as there weren't many ostentatious eateries in the Wizarding World for ornate dinners.

At that moment, a waiter came and carefully placed their dinners gently in front of them. Swiftly, he took the serviettes and gently laid them on Ron's and Hermione's laps. Ron unconsciously jumped a little at the waiter's actions.

"Is there anything else you would like this evening?" the waiter asked well-manneredly and with a smile. Ron started, "Uh..." and Hermione suddenly interjected, "No, there isn't. Thank you." The waiter nodded curtly and walked away to tend another table. She looked down at her meal, Hermione ordered a medium rare steak served with lemon sauce on the side whilst Ron, who did not know what half the menu was referring to, simply ordered cooked salmon with covered black rice as a side dish. Ron stared curiously at his food, making peculiar faces, and Hermione can't help but giggle at the sight of him.

He glanced up at her sudden laughter, "What? What did I do? 'Mione, are you sure that this is even _edible_?" He began poking around at the black rice with his fork.

"It looks like it's bloody poisoned."

Hermione only replied with more of her infectious light laughter. She stopped for a moment and said, "Really Ron, I'm sure it's edible. It's just covered in a black sesame sauce that colours the rice."

"A- wait, what? A black-what-sauce?" Ron questioned with a confused frown. Hermione only sighed; Ron wasn't accustomed to Muggle food, though he _was_ learning, which she had to give him credit for. After all, she knew that Ron couldn't possibly decline any food that was offered to him.

"Just try a taste of it, I'm certain that it is _not_ poisoned," she replied, then picked up her fork and knife, and started to cut up her steak into smaller pieces. She lifted the fork to her mouth and started chewing. Ron was still watching her, and she suddenly felt her mouth go dry under his intense gaze. Hermione quickly swallowed her food and tasted his 'poisoned' black rice. She was still looking at Ron and she raised her eyebrow delicately.

"Well? I'm clearly _not_ dead or lying across the floor unconscious now, am I?"

Ron leaned back and pursed his lips together. Frustrated, Hermione said brusquely, "For goodness' sakes, Ronald, just eat it." As Ron lifted his fork, Hermione simply stared at him, urging him on. He bit it and she advised, "You should eat it with the salmon. It'll taste better." He listened to her advice attentively and Hermione continued to eat her steak.

Both of them ate quietly until Hermione, tired of the ominous silence between them, decided to start a light conversation.

"So Ron, how was practice this afternoon?" she commenced, trying to avoid the evident stillness and discomfort.

"Well, it was still the same as ever, though a Bludger hit Jenkins twice. Wasn't very pretty." His mouth fixed at a grim line.

Hermione only shook her head disapprovingly.

"_This_ is why you shouldn't pursue the career of a Quidditch player, Ron."

He only defended, "But 'Mione, you _know _this is what I've wanted since I was young." He was peering at her, trying to make her understand. Defeated, Hermione sighed and said, "Yes, I know that but you could get hurt. I just- I don't want to see that."

Her partner's ears only reddened and Hermione only just realised that she had said that sentimental line out loud. But Ron recovered from his daze and closed the silence between them by responding teasingly, "Well, then _you _can help me with my injuries." She merely rolled her eyes, but had to bite her bottom lip to keep from smiling at his comment.

"Anyway, what's going on with your new _confidential _case?" he suddenly asked.

"W-What? I-I told you...I can't tell you anything. It's- well, it's private," she stammered and tried to regain her equilibrium before Ron could decipher the real reason behind her unusual stuttering.

"Regardless, I'll still figure it out," she said quickly and stiffly to stop Ron's asking anymore related questions.

"Alright then. You done?" he gestured at her dinner and peered up at her.

Hermione nodded slightly and he stood up.

"I'll go and uh-pay the bill then." She gazed up and watched Ron as he walked towards a waitress. He awkwardly asked her for the price, but she only pointed towards the cashier, and he confusedly strolled towards the direction she indicated. Without any reluctance, Hermione smiled at the sight again. Watching Ron function in the Muggle world made _her_ world an amusing yet appealing place.

Absentmindedly, she raised her wine glass to her lips and slowly sipped at what remained of the substance. She tilted her head to one side and, using her hand as support, silently watched as Ron scratched his ginger-haired head at the cashier. Whenever she glanced at Ron, she couldn't help but lose herself in a contemplation of their relationship. Every now and then, they would joke around together, which brought back the memories they had of Hogwarts and Harry. Those times, Hermione truthfully felt contented and comfortable; it didn't really matter if they were considered a _couple _or _just friends_. She felt at ease, like she had when they were children. _I don't want that feeling to disappear_, she thought. However, since their kiss and after the war, they rarely had adventures together like they did in Hogwarts. The trio went their separate paths but they still got in touch with each other for old times' sakes.

_Maybe Ron and I are not compatible as one. _She halted her train of thought; she was appalled at herself for thinking such matter. She shook her head, as if she could shake her deplorable thoughts away. Ron was already walking towards her and extended his hand for hers, an unexpectedly gentlemanly gesture. She peered up at him and he grinned ungrudgingly. Hermione took a deep breath before lifting her hand and laying on his. He grasped it gently and pulled her out from her seat. She stared at his bright and midnight eyes. Whilst their hands clasped, she still gazed at Ron, at his freckled face, his untidy ginger hair, his cheerful smile.

Hermione reneged back to her previous thought; _Ron and I_ are _compatible as one._ She paused again. _Aren't we?_

* * *

**Part II: The Outbreak**

The night was bitter and unwelcoming; the moon glowed from outside the window, yet it gave the room an eerie atmosphere. Hermione only shivered slightly in response to the cold, and hugged herself with her bare arms. Ron caught sight of Hermione's shivering and draped a cloak over her shoulders. She muttered a small thank you at his politeness before striding towards the kitchen for some hot chocolate. She heard a soft cushion fall and knew that Ron had already settled comfortably on the couch. Then, she heard the thudding sound of Ron's footsteps ricocheting from the walls and then slowly subsiding in the direction of the bathroom. The night was quiet, Hermione thought possibly Ginny was asleep in her bedroom at that time. Hermione stirred the hot chocolate until the door of the apartment opened with a click. She frowned and wondered if it was Ginny, who had said she was going to stay in her room all night. The sound of high-pitched, stuporous giggling confirmed her guess and she shook her head disapprovingly. _She was probably bored at home, decided to go to a pub, and get drunk again._

Mindlessly, Hermione continued stirring a second mug of hot chocolate, which was supposed to be Ron's. Subsequently, she heard another thud and more giggling. _Oh lord, please tell me she did _not _bring back a guy._ She tried to block out the sound and the idea of what _they_ were doing on the _couch,_ when a sudden noise came to her ears. It was a sound of moaning and more giggling.

"Ouch Ginny, did you just bit my lip?" a deep, husky male voice said abruptly. Another sound of female giggling answered. Hermione couldn't decipher the male's voice even though she knew it was beyond a doubt _familiar_ and definitely did _not _belong to Harry. The idea of Ginny and an unknown, yet presumptuous, male _snogging _on hers and Ginny's couch was horrifying and disturbing. _And who knows what they might do next_ she thought, shaken to her core at the mere mental image. Immediately, she stopped stirring and ran to the living room. A male with a lean, long body was sprawled on top of Ginny, and they were _really_ snogging. Her thoughts screamed,_ and on the couch too! The_ couch.

She turned her gaze away from the couple and coughed loudly as a demand for them to stop. Ginny instantly kicked the man off her, and he fell with a small _"oof_".

"Oh my goodness, Hermione! I-I-I didn't know you were here!" shrieked Ginny with astonishment. Deciding it was safe to look, Hermione let her gaze meet Ginny's.

"Well, I'm here _now. _I see you're…_occupied_ with someone tonight," she said stiffly. She tried to sneak a look at her roommate's beau, but Ginny was using her body to cover the man, as Hermione strained her neck with no results.

Ginny was smiling sheepishly at Hermione.

"A-Ah well, uhh…" Suddenly, her eyes widened at the sight of Ron's cloak, and Hermione followed her example. "…Oh-God-Oh-God-Oh-no," muttered Ginny, finally conscious of the situation. _She's…afraid…of Ron, _Hermione realized, and was startled since Ginny was a strong, fierce woman.

The man under Ginny's weight rose slowly. He started massaging the back of his neck and rolling it around. Even though his smooth back was facing Hermione, the truth suddenly dawned on her. There was only one man whom both she and Ginny knew with dark skin and a strange hint of an Italian accent in his voice.

"GINNY WEASLEY! MERLIN, YOU ARE DATING _BLAISE ZABINI_? Out of all people! _BLAISE ZABINI?_" screeched Hermione with distaste and revelation. Ginny, sitting cross-legged on the floor, only winced at Hermione's roaring. Blaise rotated his head at the ear-piercing screech of his name, but only raised his delicate brow at Hermione.

Ginny stood up and rolled her eyes at her roommate's over-dramatised outburst. "Oh for god's sake Hermione, stop screaming like my mum."

At the sound of this, Hermione only widened her brown eyes and retorted, "Like your mum? Ginny, if she _ever _caught you _snogging Blaise Zabini, _I think she'd be even more outraged than I am, thank you very much."

"What a compliment" Blaise replied sarcastically. "I thought you Gryffindor girls were at least courteous. What's wrong with Ginny's and my being together?"

Hermione swiveled her gaze to Blaise, pursed her lips, ignored his stereotyping remark, and said, "Well, Ron won't be too happy when he sees this."

At that precise moment, Ron walked into the living room. He scratched the back of his head and asked perplexedly, "What's up with all this commotion? And why were you screaming, Hermione?" As he assessed the room, he saw Ginny covering Hermione's mouth whilst Hermione struggled to break free, then his eyes landed upon Blaise, who was inexplicably standing casually in Ginny's and Hermione's living room. Ron was already confused by the dramatic tableaux, but at the sight of Blaise, he blurted, "And why the hell is _Blaise Zabini _standing here?"

Hermione was grappling with Ginny when she blurted out, "Ginny was kissing Zabini!" before Ginny immediately flung her hand out to muffle Hermione's words. For a moment, everybody stood still. The two wizards stared at each other whilst Ginny glared intensely and pointedly at Hermione.

Then Ron, seeing as Ginny was surprisingly _not _denying Hermione's accusation, he exclaimed, "WHAT? Bloody hell! Ginny!"

The ginger rolled her eyes at her ignoramus brother, plopped herself down on the couch, and sighed exasperatedly, "For goodness' sakes, Ron. There's nothing wrong with it." Blaise shrugged, sat next to Ginny and leaned back with ease, looking like a flawless, fluid model. Ginny decided to irritate Ron even more by placing her long legs on Blaise's lap, whilst he only smirked at the gesture.

Ron was fuming and screamed, "GINNY! You're fraternising with the enemy!" His ears turned red, conveying his anger.

When his younger sister heard what he said, she stood up and shot a withering glare at her brother. She scowled and yelled back, "NO, I AM NOT. Blaise is _not _the enemy!" Blaise, who was silently watching the feud, raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised that Ginny was defending him.

Ron stood numbly, then interjected immaturely, "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Ginny sighed exhaustedly, crossed her arms, and said, "Oh for Merlin's sakes Ron, grow up. You're acting like a fool, even at your age; especially in front of Hermione who is, by the way, your _girlfriend!" _

Ron glanced at Hermione and their gazes met across the room, while Hermione wordlessly observed the brother and sister fight. Ron's ears reddened in defense, and he stammered, "Y-Yeah. Well, at least I'm not the one who is _snogging _infamous _Zabini._"

This time, Blaise rose to his full height and threw in, "Who the hell are you calling infamous, _Weasley_?" He spat the name with distaste, but came to a realisation that Ginny was a Weasley herself, and his mouth snapped shut.

"I don't need your permission to date, or even _snog, _a guy. I can do whatever I want. Last I checked you're my brother, not _Mum_." added Ginny and, to prove her point, her hand grasped Blaise's hand tightly.

"Wait," interrupted Hermione who was silent throughout their conversation. She turned to her roommate and best girlfriend. "I-I thought you liked Harry…didn't you?"

"Yeah, you kissed him before" Ron included, appending to her point, and stared at Ginny defiantly.

Ginny ignored Ron and only raised an eyebrow at Hermione, "What? Harry? N-no, I mean, I did. I _liked _him before, but not _now_."

Ron interjected just as Hermione opened her mouth, "But now you like _Blaise Zabini? _Are you serious, Ginny? Have you gone mental?"

"SHUT UP RON! FOR GOODNESS SAKE, stop being such an abominable _prat_!" screamed Ginny at the top of her lungs, weary of her brother's irrationality. Ron, Hermione, and even Blaise all winced at her thundering voice. Suddenly, the enraged ginger grabbed her partner's hand and dragged him to the door. Just before she twisted the doorknob, she looked back at the couple in the living room. "I'm tired of this! It's ridiculous! Ron, grow up for god's sakes. No wonder Hermione didn't tell you that her next case is, by the way, the oh-so-_infamous_ Malfoy!" She spat the last word, seized Blaise's hand with astonishment written on his face, and Apparated with him from the apartment in less than a second.

Hermione and Ron were both stunned by Ginny's and Blaise's precipitous departure. _Oh no, she just told Ron about Malfoy, _Hermione immediately thought. There was a silence stretched between them, until Ron finally perceived what his sister said. He turned on his heels and looked bewilderedly at Hermione. She decided to quickly change the subject and walked towards the kitchen with Ron following behind her.

"So um, that was interesting…" she started, holding the two hot chocolate in her hands.

Ron narrowed his eyes but didn't take the hot chocolate and said, voice full of condemnation, "_Interesting? _Ginny just bloody fought with me because she was caught snogging Zabini!"

Hermione pressed her lips to a thin line and replied waveringly, "Well, at least we know now that she's not interested in Harry anymore." Ron snorted in reply, took the extended hot chocolate and finished it in a gulp whilst Hermione just watched. He placed his mug down and Hermione muttered "Scourgify," without the use of her wand.

As she was arranging the mug in the cupboard, Ron suddenly said, "And bloody hell, she really has gone mental. She said your next case is bloody _Malfoy_."

Hermione paused and sheepishly replied, "Ah-ha. Right." Her back was facing Ron, covering her quivering, unnerved expression.

"The case is classified anyway, it wouldn't be Malfoy," Ron continued. Hermione rotated her body, braced her hands on the side of the counter, and only nodded instinctively at Ron. Then he glanced up tentatively to meet her eyes but she purposely stared at her cup of hot chocolate.

"Wait, the case is _not _Malfoy, is it?"

She chuckled nervously and blurted, "I need to use the restroom." Hermione swiftly darted past Ron and ran to the bathroom in her bedroom. She swung the door open and locked it rapidly, then she turned to meet herself in the mirror.

"Oh god, I can't. T-This- R-Ron, I-" Hermione leaned back against the door and lightly banged her head against it. "This is not how I planned tonight," she said slowly, each word punctuated by a thump against the door. Extremely exasperated and anxious that Ron might burst when he realised that Hermione was concealing the case from him, she chanted her daily mantra again, "Focus. Space. Clear thoughts, clear mind." Slowly, even though Ron was outside waiting, she ignored the scintillant thought and breathed in and out. _I can't tell him it's Malfoy because he will rage but if I don't tell him and he found out it _is _Malfoy, he'll also rage,_ she thought. "Lovely, I'll face one of Ron's tantrums either way," she murmured to herself. "Why didn't I tell him before? Argh- Okay, I can do this. I _can. _I'm Hermione Granger." She looked at herself in the mirror, still wearing her elegant black dress from the dinner, but few strands of hair had fallen out of place due to the recent debacle. Since there was nothing better to do, she tidied her hair before walking out from the bathroom.

As she closed the door, her gaze met Ron's and it was obvious that he was ignited with his infamous rage. Mystified and confused by his expression, she swivelled her gaze to his hand, which held the document proclaiming the name of her next case: Draco Malfoy. As she lifted her head, Ron only stared stonily at her and asked, pronouncing each word slowly and deliberately, "What the hell is this?"

Hermione was incredibly frightened as she stepped out from the bathroom. She had planned on telling him herself rather than letting him discover it, which would only worsen the situation. She planted her feet on the ground and lifted her chin.

"That's an assignment, of course."

He retorted, "Oh? An assignment, right. I just saw with my own eyes that this assignment is yours obviously but also, _Draco Malfoy?"_ She pursed her lips and just stared at him. "Hermione, you _lied _to me! You said that your next case wasn't bloody Draco Malfoy."

Hermione jerked at his outrage and snatched the folder of his hands, "You're _not _supposed to see that. It's strictly confidential, Ron, and no; I did _not _lie to you. I didn't _say _my next case wasn't Draco Malfoy." She walked towards her drawers, slide it open and place the folder in it before whispering, "_Defigo." _The lock activated with a click and she turned her heels to meet Ron again.

"So you didn't say your next case was Draco Malfoy, you just bloody _tricked _me into believing that it wasn't Malfoy?" Ron exclaimed, as he threw his hands up in the air dramatically.

"Will you stop saying 'bloody'? I didn't trick you. You just assumed it yourself!" Hermione responded, infuriated by his reaction to the news.

He shot an incredulous look at her and demanded, "Can_ you_ stop being so bloody smart and annoying all the time?"

Then, she snapped spontaneously and walked towards Ron with a rage-filled, disbelieving look in her eyes.

"How dare you, Ronald Weasley? How _dare_ you speak to me like that! I am _not _bloody annoying." She poked his chest forcefully and stared up at him. "You don't even trust me enough, I was going to tell you about the Malfoy case later but now, I see why I shouldn't have."

Ron eyes widened at each word of her pronouncement, "Trust you? I can't freaking trust you when you won't even tell me these things in the first place. Bloody hell, Hermione." Ron was never more outraged that ever, judging from her tone of voice, she was blaming their crumbling relationship on her.

"_Bloody hell?_ I take back what I said before; you _don't _have an emotional range of a teaspoon. In fact, you have even less," said Hermione unpleasantly, impassive of his tantrums. "In fact, I'm tired of doing _this." _She her gestured to her dress and his attire, then stopped suddenly. She fidgeted nervously with the edge of her dress and her thoughts reverted back to her question she had asked herself earlier.

"What _are_ we, Ron?" She asked in a soft tone "Friends? Best friends? Or more?"

Ron jerked back in surprise at the change of subject and instinctively replied, "I-I don't know. We're just…_us_."

Hermione mindlessly echoed, "Just us," purposely avoiding glancing at Ron's blue eyes.

Ron shook his head, "Hermione, why didn't you tell me your next case is bloody Malfoy? He's a git and y-you, you don't trust me."

She titled her head to look at him. "What? You know, the reason I didn't tell you was merely because I _knew _you would act like this. People _change, _Ronald. Malfoy might be different than he was before, nobody knows."

Shaking her head, she folded her arms and stared at him. Ron, unwavering under her gaze, stalked towards her bed, pacing back and forth, and retorted, "Oh yes, people bloody well change. Just not freaking Malfoy! Or have you forgotten the things he did to us?"

Hermione stood there, fuming silently, and shot him a penetrating glare. "Of course I didn't, but you're being illogical and asinine. Merlin, Ronald, why can't you just grow up already?"

He stopped his pacing and screeched, blood rising to his cheeks, "WELL MAYBE BECAUSE I CAN'T BLOODY FREAKING GROW UP, _HERMIONE_. I'm _so_ terribly sorry that _I_ can't freaking change, but apparently you said _Malfoy_ can." Appalled at the sudden burst and the bitterness in his tone, she widened her eyes at the sight of Ron, of all people, screaming at her over her case with _Malfoy_. Tears were threatening to roll over her cheeks but stubbornly, she clenched her fists, dug her fingernails into the skin of her palms, and prayed for her tears to not fall. Furious with herself, she turned her back against Ron and faced the window. _How can you be so weak_, she thought to herself as the first tear travelled down to her chin. Ron, who had splotches of red in his face, due to his anger, finally became aware of what he had said.

He tried to reach for her, but stopped, his fingers hanging in mid-air, nearly touching her shoulders.

"I-H-Hermione? You know I didn't mean that, right?" Her clenched fists shaking, she rotated to face Ron, tears pouring down her cheeks. Ron, alarmed, repeated distressfully, "Merlin, I'm so sorry Hermione. You know I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry." This time, he tried to touch her for closure, but she stepped aside, recoiling from his touch. Hermione slowly backed away from Ron and settled herself on the bed with her hands clasped in front of her dress. Ron started again, "I'm so sorry-"

"You know Ron, looking at the past now, I just realised how many times we've fought over pointless subjects," she mumbled monotonously, staring at her hands on her lap, as if she were fascinated by them. "…Right now, I can't believe we're fighting over my new assignment on Malfoy. You said I don't trust you and that is the reason why I did not inform you about Malfoy but, well do _you_ trust _me_?" Before Ron could even answer her question, she resumed speaking; louder this time.

"I-I don't know, Ron. I'm just so tired of this...fighting. We always fight for a day and get back together on the next; first we're talking then we're shouting. As for me, I can't help b-but feel as if though we are on a constant cycle. Sometimes, we treat each other like we're friends and the next minute we're arguing. It's just-" Hermione stopped, unsure what to say or how to phrase it.

She lifted her head to meet his blue eyes across the small, organised room.

"M-Maybe we're not meant to be…more than friends. You said we are _just us_, and I honestly thought that perhaps there was a chance you might say we were lovers." Ron sucked in a deep breath at Hermione's words and the silence grew between, getting louder and louder, until Hermione burst out, "Say something."

He turned his head and looked towards the door. "What do you expect me to say? That I fully agree with you?" He ran his fingers through his ruffled ginger hair.

"Bloody hell- so basically what you're trying to say is that we should break up. Is that it?"

Hermione jerked her head up. She had thought of it before many times, but when Ron said it out loud, it seemed as if it were really happening. She panicked; she didn't want to break up with Ron because she knew that would leave their friendship on the rocks, with Harry in the middle. She knew that she loved him, but she was arguing with herself. _Do I really love him? Or do I just care for him as a friend?_ After all those years of friendship, she couldn't just end things now; she was terrified of what would happen if they did break up. Although, if she couldn't tell the difference between true love and friendship love, wasn't their relationship based on the latter? Wouldn't one _know _what it was like to be in love rather than deliberating if it was love or not? Her conscious was urging her to say yes; to wholeheartedly agree that they weren't compatible as lovers. That maybe they were just friends and nothing more.

After a long pause in which the two individuals contemplated their own thoughts and inner battles, Ron pulled the silence apart and spat resentfully, "Fine, whatever. I get it, I wasn't good enough." Hermione was about to contradict and interrupt him, but without any hesitation he continued, "You know Hermione, a relationship with you really was tiring," Ron gushed out, opened the door, and then he was gone. Just like that.

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A/N: Well, I wanted to get this chapter over with and yes, I _did _made it a little unrealistic on Ron's character but I'm sorry to all Ron lovers, I was in desperate need of getting him out of the way. Oh, did I not mention that I ship Blinny (Blaise and Ginny) and Harry with Luna (Lunarry? And yes, you'll see them later on...)


	4. III: Following Malfoy

A/N: This is a relatively slow chapter but it shows a glimpse of what will happen next. I hope you guys like it and sorry if there are few grammar mistakes, please point it out to me if there is. On that note, I'm looking for a beta-reader for the rest of the story, if anyone is interested, please let me know!

Disclaimer: I would _die _to own Malfoy but sadly as much as I hate to admit it, I don't. My intellectual capability does not extend to seven brilliant fantasy books and a world that clearly changed our generations.

* * *

"Hermione! Hermione! Wait up," shouted a voice from behind but she did not wait or stop at all. Harry tried to catch up to the girl who was looking at the ground walking faster, instantly aware of people intentionally staring at her as she quickly strolled towards the entrance. There were whispers around her; often the words "Weasley" and "break up" were spoken in hushed tones with even few fingers pointing at her. _Well, apparently they're not loud enough_, Hermione thought sarcastically. Walking faster and faster trying to get away from all these eyes pinned to the back of her head, she knew that this would happen. That somehow her break up with Ron would definitely spark off gossips around the community and most definitely, in the Ministry of Magic all thanks to the Daily Prophet, which was incredulous because Hermione certainly did not think that the _Daily Prophet_ would even bother about relationships such as these. Though she supposed since they were both within _The Golden Trio, _apparently that gave the initiative to publish the end of their relationship.

When Hermione woke up in the morning, Ginny came shrieking and bursting into her room, shouted, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BROKE UP WITH RON! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS?!" The ginger trashed her arms with distress whilst waving the Daily Prophet in front of Hermione's face, which displayed the words, "The prominent relationship from the Golden Trio came to an unbelievable end". With Ginny screeching at her ear in the morning was evidently not a good start of her day, both of the girls talked and Hermione explained to Ginny how when she mentioned about Malfoy last night, Ron exploded in rage and everything just fell apart then. Devastated and shocked, Ginny repeatedly apologised to Hermione about her outburst, that the girl was really just infuriated with her brother and blaming herself for their breakup. Needless to say, Hermione tried to reason with her friend, that it would appear that Ron and Hermione weren't meant to be together after all, or at least not more than _friends_. It did hurt, when he just left and stated that a relationship with her was tiring. Not difficult, not even awful but _tiring_. She could accept dreadful, difficult or even miserable but just not _tiring_. Tiring was the worst adjective that can label her relationship with Ron, in which her heart clenched and felt as if it was stabbed. Hermione spent the whole night thinking about their relationship, she can't help but overanalyse things; it was after all, her nature to do so.

One thing she learned though was when you're in the present, the line between reality and fiction is blurred, everything pasts and you don't even realise what _really_ happens until the present became the past. Hermione thought it was odd, _perhaps it's in our nature to ignore everything now and let everything slide through our fingers until the future comes, then we realised it's too late to retrieve everything back_. Immediately, she broke out of her contemplation when a hand grasped and locked his or her fingers around her arm. She jumped and tried to pull away from the grip, "Hermione! What are you doing? I've been running and calling your name for a while now," said a deep male voice. Finally, she turned at the familiarity and breathed a sighed with relief and strangely, disappointment until she recognised it was just Harry. For a moment, she honestly thought that there was a chance it might be Ron, asking for forgiveness and they can both mend their relationship though obviously her fantasy was shattered.

"Oh, hullo Harry. Sorry, I was thinking about…some things, " she managed to choked out the last two words before turning towards the available lifts. Harry, frustrated with his best friend's strange behaviour, silently followed behind. The door closed and locked with a final click. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air, as if it was a ball waiting to be dropped.

Struggling to find a topic to talk about, Harry could not take the suspense anymore and quickly blurted out, "What happened with Ron?"

Pointedly, Hermione looked straight pointedly, giving no signs of answering Harry's question but before Harry could repeat it again, she said softly, "You'd know but just to clarify, I guess we just…broke up." The events of last night came crashing down on her again, the date, Ginny kissing Zabini, the shouting, the questioning, the mistrust, Malfoy…freaking _Malfoy_.

The lift stopped and announced, "Second floor, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." She walked out with her heels clicking on the marble floor in pace, Harry followed behind her and asked, "You're right, I _do_ know but you and Ron _breaking up_?!" The sharpness and the incredulous tone of Harry's voice made Hermione strangely furious, how dare he assumed that she and Ron would eventually perfectly last as a couple, get married and live happily ever after? Did everyone honestly thought that after the war, she and Ron of The Golden Trio would kick back and ride off to the sunset? She snorted inwardly, _No, of course not if everyone didn't step over broken rocks along the road of relationships, would that even be real?_ Even if she would not admit it, Hermione truthfully believed that there is a line that separates a start and a happy ending of a love story with something in between, like an unprecedented twist of a Victorian muggle novel.

Without turning her head to look at her friend, she sternly answered, "No, we're not breaking up. We _broke up_, as in past tense." Harry only stared at her as if she was growing a moustache and she flung her arms exasperatedly. She continuously walked on the path to her office as Harry followed closely behind her. Hermione continued to walk along the path to her office whilst passersby openly gazed at Hermione with a trailing famous Harry Potter. With distaste, she fixedly glared at them before they scurry off into other direction. Hermione hated this; she genuinely did not think that the news would be transpired in a few days but no, apparently someone obviously was compelled to expose the new gossip. Inwardly, she sighed with weariness as she opened the door to her office and entered the sign that read, "Hermione Granger, Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement"

As Hermione walked towards her office desk and cleared out some paperwork, Harry slumped in her leather chair ungracefully. He let out a deafening sigh which brought Hermione to his attention, "What is it, Harry? I know you're dreading to say something, if you want to then go ahead and say it." She crossed her arms and patiently waited for his response.

It was as if he was suddenly lost in a thought and finally decided to look up to Hermione, he commented indifferently, "I just can't believe that you and Ron are romantically over."

For some odd reason, Hermione giggled abruptly and Harry peered at her as if she was mental. She cupped her hands over her mouth but unexpectedly her giggles broke into laughter that filled the room. Her best friend sat in his seat and gawked at her outburst; she choked out one hearty laugh at his expression with his eyebrows furrowed, green eyes white open gaping and face drained of colour. Immediately, she stopped and took a deep breath, "Oh I'm sorry, Harry. It's just that the look on your face was too hilarious for me to resist laughing."

She smiled at her best friend while he steadily replied, withdrew the shock from her ludicrous laughter, "I'm glad my face amused you, Hermione." Harry rolled his eyes but there was a hint of a smile implanted on his face. Hermione bit her lip as her mind floated back to reality before she settled in her seat and started arranging the paper work on her desk in an immaculate order. Harry opened his mouth to say something but snapped it close and thought it twice over. He knew that it would be difficult to approach the topic of her and Ron's relationship; he also knew that Hermione was outraged with the Daily Prophet for announcing this news. Hermione never did have a strong association with Rita Skeeter, not even an acquaintanceship. He started, "Hermione…about the headlines of the Daily Prophet, don't worry about it. I'm positive it will blow over soon..eventually."

The brunette looked up from her paper work and rubbed the side of her head with her hand, massaging the headache. "Yes, I _know _it _will _blow over eventually but did you not see how many people were staring unashamedly at me. They didn't even bother to lower their voices, which is outrageous. Do they have no shame at all? It's ridiculous! Not to mention the Daily Prophet's article, which was printed on the front page as well. As if my relationship ended with Ron was the biggest news ever." She took a deep breath again and leaned back at her chair.

Harry was silently listening to her comments but he couldn't think of any other way to ease her discontentment so he joked, "But you have to admit, it _is _their biggest news _ever._"

"I just never thought that the _Daily Prophet _would notify the public so soon. Obviously they would find out about the breakup but- I just want everyone to stop staring at me as if I grew whiskers or anything," she murmured and sighed again.

Immediately, Harry sat up and a grin smothered his face, "Oh yes, remember the time when we took the Polyjuice potion and you turned into a ginormous cat?" Hermione only glared at him in reply and rolled her eyes as he said, "Those were the good times."

"Yes, those were the _good _times. Not to mention the fact that we were nearly killed around _a million _times and going off adventures without knowing the consequences. Regardless Harry, I think you should head back to your office whilst I, continue to do my work." Inwardly, she was deciding how to approach her new case. She already looked over the expenditures and revenue of the Malfoy Enterprise but there wasn't any record on the young Malfoy himself.

"Right, so how's the case with Malfoy going?" Harry asked, if Hermione did not wish to discuss her breakup with Ron then he supposed he would address her about Malfoy. In effect, Hermione went pale and pursed her lips tightly.

She wanted to tell Harry that she couldn't accept this case; it was Malfoy, their archenemy. Even though he did after all, shifted his allegiance to neutral during the war, it would be near impossible to investigate his motives after his short 'disappearance' as he openly declared his repugnance towards the Golden Trio. Internally, she shook her head; Malfoy would not stand in her way, she was an Auror and she definitely will not back down merely because of her dismay to undertake the case. "Oh, er- It's going great. I've looked over his past recent actions but it's hard to tell what his purpose for entering back to society's radar so I guess I'll be tracking him down sooner or later."

Her best friend nodded approvingly as he stood and announced, "Well then, I guess I should go to my office. If you have _any _trouble with Malfoy, you should come and talk to me and we'll sort it out. Also, if you er- need somebody to talk to, you can talk to me. I'm always here." He added those last words in case Hermione would take the hint and talk about her and Ron's relationship.

She knew Harry wanted to know details about how it ended but she couldn't bring herself to tell him, not yet. "Don't worry Harry, I'm fairly convinced that Malfoy wouldn't hex me to oblivion before I hex him myself," she wryly smiled as she watched Harry walked towards her office door.

Harry paused, turned around to look at his lifelong best friend and added, "Of course, you're Hermione Granger. Brilliant as always." With that, he closed the door with a click as Hermione let out a sigh of tiredness. She didn't know exactly the reason of why she was so tired; perhaps it's because of the aftereffect of her breakup with Ron. After Ron left, Hermione was truly a mess, tears were streaming down both of her cheeks and she sobbed for Merlin knows how long before she finally persuaded herself to sleep her heartbreak off. However, sleep became her enemy and never came, which left Hermione pondering the past of her relationship. She had a crush on Ron ever since Fourth Year as he profoundly declared his disapproval of Krum and her relationship, now that she thought about it. It seemed more as if Ron was fuelled with jealousy instead of betrayal. Only in Sixth Year due to the Amortentia potion did she came to a realisation that she was in love with Ron even though he evidently infuriated Hermione to the point where she felt like pulling strands of her hair out.

She suddenly snapped herself from her thoughts from last night; she did not want to relive that again. Hermione only had 4 hours of sleep due to her constant "what if"s and the trip down memory lane when she was with Ron. Her eyes were red and swollen that Ginny had to helped her hide the clear heavy bags under her eyes, which truly looked horrible when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Hermione placed her hands on her table and stood up, she just had to do something before her impinging thoughts eventually invaded her sanity. _I supposed I better get on with my work with Malfoy, _she thought.

Hermione thought it was better to start with finding the source which told the Daily Prophet that Malfoy was in Flourish & Bolts in Diagon Alley as the notes on Malfoy Inc. was no indication of where he will be and she certainly wasn't going to start with the Malfoy Manor. With her files in her arms, she walked out from her office and began to walk towards the Atrium Hall.

When Hermione arrived at a junction in Diagon Alley, she regained her balance from the Apparition and walked towards the direction of the Daily Prophet's main office. There were crowds pouring in and out from the shops and restaurants of Diagon Alley as usual, it was always crowded but when the Death-eaters returned during the war where they destroyed most of the shops in Diagon Alley, the place was reconstructed and polished to its finest. Hermione was squeezed in between witches and wizards as she successfully and finally zig-zagged her way to the Daily Prophet's main office. She pushed the door and a squeaky voice announced behind a desk, "Welcome to the Daily Prophet, what can I help you with?"

"Hello, I would like to speak to the person who wrote the article on 'Malfoy Jr. finally revealed himself to the public after the long time of isolation', I need to know which source that informed Malfoy's appearance," Hermione inquired but the secretary only stared at her openly. Inwardly, she resisted the urge to fling her arms, as Hermione came to a realisation that _this _was what happened when she placed her foot in the heart of Daily Prophet. _Gossips must be floating around and a breeze to print them too, _she thought with utmost distaste. "By the way, I'm an Auror and I _need _you to help me find the writer for this. Thank you _so_ much for your attention," she said icily and sarcastically which the girl finally recovered from her reverie. The secretary scrambled out from her seat and disappeared into the doors where presumably, Hermione thought the writers and journalists would be.

"Hermione Granger? Is that you?" asked a strangely familiar voice from behind. As Hermione turned around, she suddenly recognised the witch as Parvati Patil, whom she lost connection with after the war. Parvati was dressed in the most stunning robes hanging on her skinny form with her black silky hair pinned on top in an elegant bun. "Oh Merlin, it _is _you! I never thought I would see you again, but then I thought I'd recognise that brown hair anywhere. You look different, it's fantastic!" Her old Gryffindor friend unexpectedly hugged Hermione and gave two french air kisses as a greeting.

Stunned by the sudden gesture, Hermione smiled sheepishly and exclaimed, "Not as fantastic as you. You look beautiful, as always." It was then she noticed a photographer trailing behind Parvati did she came to a moment of realisation and gasped, "Oh! You're a journalist for the Daily Prophet!"

Parvati laughed and nodded, "Yes, I was always a gossiper back in Hogwarts and I took an interest of becoming a journalist. It's actually really lovely." Hermione smiled in reply though she couldn't comprehend why she would take an interest for this. Parvati waved off the subject and questioned, "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you are an Auror doing your…field work and such."

"This _is_ my field work, I'm just looking for a writer from the Daily Prophet. It's nothing dangerous," she replied, _or at least I _hoped _it wouldn't lead to danger._

At that moment, the secretary at the desk came out from the room with a wizard trailing after her. The witch gestured, "This is Wilkins, he's the guy who wrote that article on Draco Malfoy." Wilkins was obviously a very dedicated writer as his robes were dishevelled, face glazed with intellectual sense and looked as if though he spent most of his times writing articles for the Daily Prophet.

At the mention of Draco Malfoy, Parvati exclaimed, "Oh Hermione, so you're investigating on Malfoy? He's back in town, isn't he?" The secretary already moved back to her desk as if she was bored by the topic.

Hermione replied, "Yes he is, could you wait for a moment Parvati? I need to ask Wilkins something." Parvati shrugged elegantly and moved towards the inside of the office as Hermione shifted to her intellectual side, "Hello Mr. Wilkins, I am an Auror on an ongoing inspection on Draco Malfoy." Wilkins only nodded as a response as she continued, "So, you stated in your article on Malfoy's reappearance that a source told you about this? Can you tell me who that source is?"

Dully, the writer replied, "Miss Granger, is it not? The source just came by this office and dropped off this information, and immediately left. I have honestly no idea on who that wizard is."

She tried to hide her disappointment as she decided to go on other path, "Oh, how about telling me what does this wizard look like and I can possibly trace him." She took out her notebook and waited for Wilkins to answer.

He only sighed insipidly and bluntly said, "I think it would be best if you just trace Malfoy himself, I can hardly remember how the wizard looks like. If you don't mind, I would like to get back to my work." At that instant, he turned and walked inside the office as now, it was Hermione's turn to stare openly at how infuriating the writer was. She felt like screaming, she was going nowhere with this. _This is the reason why I absolutely dislike writers and journalists from the Daily Prophet, _she thought.

Parvati came and clasped her hand on Hermione's shoulder as the brunette jumped up with surprise, "I hope you got what you needed, Hermione. In any case, I better get back to work. It was nice seeing you Hermione, maybe we can have a drink someday." The journalist waved goodbye as Hermione smiled and nodded. The Daily Prophet, it seemed became a dead end and she supposed she had to find another path. _Perhaps if I tried Flourish & Bolts and investigate there._

Hermione walked out of the Daily Prophet's main office as she began her course to Flourish & Bolts. The route was familiar as she often came to bookstores such as these and also, Obscurus Books. Even her job as Auror, Hermione simply loved reading. It was a hobby just as Quidditch was Ron's and Harry's, regardless the fact that they utterly do not understand why reading became Hermione's hobby. She stepped inside the shop and suddenly she was overwhelmed with the comfortable smell of books. She walked towards the inside, moving away from the piles of books, which flooded the shop. A wizard peeked out and asked, "Good day, what can I do for you, miss?"

"Er- Hello, I was wondering if you perhaps saw Draco Malfoy in the shops since it was said that he identified in your shop looking for books for potions?" Hermione questioned with hope for a notable answer.

The manager thought for a moment and suddenly his eyebrows arched up, "Oh yes, I saw him. A very very pale blond man came in the shop requesting if I had the book 'An Anthology of Eighteen Century Potions' and I answered that I did not because well, it's a rare and ancient book, you see."

Hermione pursed her lips and thought, _Why would he be looking for an ancient and rare potions book in Flourish & Bolts? _There were so many questions she wanted to ask Malfoy but all she received was unanswered questions and even more queries. It was definitely going to be difficult to find Malfoy's intentions even though it seemed as if it was a simple task. Relentlessly, she asked, "Well, did he say anything else other than he was looking for that book?"

"No, he came in, looked into the potions section, asked me if I have that book and left after I declined," the manager said, tapping at each action on his fingers and asked, "Would you like to buy any book of your interest?" Hermione shook her head slowly as he became disinterested on pursuing her to buy his books and the wizard turned towards the new customers. She slumped her shoulders; apparently Malfoy was curt and straightforward, wasted no time if he did not find the book. _I never even heard of such a book, _she mindlessly thought.

Dejectedly, she walked out from the store and at that moment, more passersby stared and whispered words around her. She blatantly rolled her eyes at them and ignored their persistent oppressing stares at the back of her head as she turned to a small path to Apparate. As she walked on the path, there was a blur of a woman in front of her, dressed in fully body black and disappeared from her sight to another direction. Curiously, she followed this mysterious woman and hid her body behind the wall of a shop. It was a deserted alley where there are few shops still opened but most were either closed or abandoned. It was until then did she glance at the woman, from the back, all Hermione could see was black robes with a pile of blond hair knotted into the most intricate bun and a black refined hat. Hermione followed closely behind whilst hiding in between smaller narrow alleys, she wondered why this strange woman was so secretive and enigmatic.

When the woman turned to the door of what seemed of an unused shop, she peered to her left and right for any onlookers in the alley before entering the shop. Hermione stifled a gasp when she saw the woman's face; it was indeed the prominent flawless face of Narcissa Malfoy herself. Hermione contemplated on the reason behind the Malfoy's surreptitious movements; there was no purpose to be covert as after the war, the Malfoy family was admittedly did not have a strong reason to be locked up in Azkaban since they have fled from the battle in the end, rather than supporting Voldermort. The Malfoy family was pronounced as free, which puzzled Hermione as to _why _was Narcissa behaving so secretively.

The alley was unwelcoming and inexplicably dark in the midday, the heavy silence hung in the air. A quiet stealthy wind brushed across the alley, caused a clatter of bottles rolled on the cracked ground and sent shivers down Hermione's spine. She hugged her elbows for warmth as she walked towards the shop that she spotted Narcissa entered moments ago, the sign on the shop appeared as if it was hammered into pieces and then displayed on top once more. The windows had curtains draped and she could see nothing but darkness inside of the shop, Hermione knitted her eyebrows in confusion. _Why did Narcissa Malfoy, out of all people, enter a place like this? _Hermione strangely thought as she decided to peer inside for a closer look.

Slowly, she twisted the knob of the door, with a mutter of _Lumos, _she stepped inside with a creak on the wooden floorboards. She hovered her wand around but it was empty, there was a staircase leading up to the second floor obviously however inside the shop only had empty counters undoubtedly for the goods that this abandoned shop sold before. The place was dusty, dark and intolerably cold. Hermione sighed and decided to turn around back to Diagon Alley when a voice proclaimed from behind, "Can I help you?" She jumped and pointed her wand immediately to the spokesperson.

The beaming light from Hermione's wand outlined Narcissa Malfoy's facial features, her eyebrow raised to a perfect arch and her pale flawless skin but the woman did not flinch against the light impinging on her face. With a sudden gasp, Hermione immediately lowered her wand. Narcissa Malfoy merely smiled and signalled elegantly for Hermione to follow her out from the shop. Outside in the alley, Hermione kept her wand inside of her robes as the elder woman stood in front patiently crossed her arms with gracefulness that Hermione can't help but envy so much. After she gained her balance, Hermione asked timidly, "W-What do you think you're doing here?" _Great, now I sound as if I am the one who is frightened, _Hermione thought with distaste to herself.

Narcissa Malfoy gracefully replied, "I was taking a stroll in Diagon Alley and turned to this junction as I was looking for more robes." She pointed at the clothing shop in front, few blocks away from here. She continued with a polite tone of voice, "Until I was walking back when I found you in this empty shop."

Hermione shook her head slightly and replied, "No, I clearly _saw _you entered this shop and I followed you inside before you somehow disappeared. What were _you _planning to do in there?"

The Malfoy smirked faintly which reminded Hermione of how the young Draco Malfoy used to do back in Hogwarts, the resemblance was utmost incredible. Narcissa Malfoy unfolded her arms and said, "I was not informed that I had an Auror investigating my actions."

The elder Malfoy evidently knew Hermione and her status in the Ministry of Magic, it seemed Narcissa Malfoy was involved in the news of the public. "No, you don't have an Auror trailing after you. But I still need to know why you were secretively going into this particularly abandoned shop," Hermione responded firmly. Narcissa Malfoy swiftly turned and walked towards the end of the alley, Hermione started and followed her footsteps. "You need to tell me this, I as an Auror, am questioning your behaviour and actions." The elder witch continuously walked without care as Hermione frustratedly made her pronouncement, "Perhaps you can tell me why your son is back in London, Mrs. Malfoy."

At the mention of her son, Narcissa Malfoy immediately snapped to Hermione's attention, paused to turn around and asked, "Draco? What about him?"

Hermione walked to the elder Malfoy as she said indifferently, "I'm investigating your son's reappearance in London. I have the sole right to know about his motives in order to accomplish this case. So if you would kindly please, answer my question. Why is he back _now_?"

Narcissa Malfoy was silent for a moment whilst Hermione persistently stared at her, waiting for an answer. "I don't understand why the Ministry would send an Auror for this job," was the only reply Hermione received.

"Mr. Kingsley would like to keep track on all the former defected death-eaters, regardless of whether if that wizard or witch has been declared to be _free. _As Aurors, our purpose is to monitor each and every one of wizard or witch who has a previous or current contact with death-eaters in order to prevent…unexpected possible dangers," Hermione professionally answered Narcissa Malfoy's unasked question. The elder Malfoy was suddenly quiet again though she approached to Hermione with careful footsteps; she took out a piece of parchment and placed it in Hermione's palm.

Surprised at this action, Hermione stared confusingly at the elder Malfoy as she explained, "This is the address to a Muggle cafe where I suddenly grew fond of strangely, meet me there tomorrow at 11am sharp. I expect no delays." The brunette opened her mouth to asked a question but the elder woman immediately resumed explained her unspoken query, "It's not safe to speak here. It's better if we speak in a…safer public area about this. Have a lovely day, Miss Granger." It was then the elder woman stepped back and Apparated unpredictably in front of Hermione as she grasped tightly at the piece of parchment.

As she soon followed and Apparated back to the Ministry of Magic, she spent the time walking to her office thinking about what had actually occurred. Narcissa Malfoy, whom indirectly had an allegiance with the death-eaters before changing sides along with the whole Malfoy family in order to escape a ride to Azkaban. The encounter in Diagon Alley was beyond what she imagined, it was peculiar that Narcissa Malfoy would clearly lied to Hermione about her actions. There was definitely something unknowingly perplexing in that shop and she was certain she would reveal the mystery behind all that. For a moment, her mind drifted off to the possibility that the Malfoy family were recruiting death-eaters and trying to cause an uprising to the Ministry. Hermione shook the thought out from her head at once, she wasn't the witch who thought of the worse situations but it was crucial to be prepared.

Once Hermione closed her office door, she began to settle down at her dest and write down the list of procedure in order to finish this task. She flipped opened the case, took a piece of paper and a pen to write down, 'An Anthology of Eighteen Century Potions'. She made a note to herself that she would unquestionably research on what the book was about and find out _why _Malfoy was searching for it. Unconsciously, Hermione's eyes rested on the piece of parchment that Narcissa Malfoy gave her, with another dejected sigh, she reached out for the paper and unfolded it. '34, Wellington Street' were the only written words; Hermione leaned back and closed her eyes. She knew this was going to be difficult, getting information out from a Malfoy but she was extremely inquisitive to know why would Narcissa Malfoy willing to have a conversation with her in a Muggle cafe no less.

There were two quiet knocks on the door and Hermione's eyes suddenly fluttered open, in alert. "Come in," she called distantly and Harry's head poked in. He walked towards her office and took a seat opposite her desk. Harry looked absolutely drained, his hair was more rumpled than usual and his glasses framed two heavy bags under his eyes. Hermione asked with concern trace in her voice, "Merlin, what happened to you? Did you do field work today? You look absolutely…dreadful."

Harry grimaced with fatigue written all over his face and replied, "If I was doing field work, I think I might actually look better than I am right now. I just had a meeting with the heads and giving an update on the death-eaters."

"I take it the capture of Rowle have not been transpired yet?" Hermione asked with sympathy.

Harry took off his glasses and started rubbing his eyes as if trying to rub off the exhaustion, which reminded Hermione of how he was back in Hogwarts. She nearly smiled at the memory before he said stiffly, "No, and we haven't got _any _trace on Mulciber Jr. either or any of the Lestranges, or Goyle Sr. Even Nott in Azkaban is not talking about _anything. _We were discussing on using the Veritaserum but it would take a lot of paperwork and I'm not even certain it will work on Nott."

Seeing as Harry was getting agitated, Hermione put in, "Look on the bright side, Harry, at least we've captured Nott, Travers and Macnair. Don't worry about it, Harry, we should take it one step at a time." Harry was silent and placed his elbows on her desk before putting his head in his hands. She stood up and walked over next to her best friend, she patted his hair and smoothen it out. "Harry, you're doing great as Head of Aurors and we _are _making process. Just be patient about it," she said, acting motherlike.

He looked up and smiled tightly before he asked, "So, how's the case with Malfoy going?"

She looked up to the ceiling with her palms bracing against her desk, "Well, I met Narcissa Malfoy today in Diagon Alley. So that's a start, I suppose." Then she looked back to Harry to see his eyebrows raised to his forehead with extreme surprise.

"Really? That's brilliant, right? What did you say to her?" he asked.

She sighed and took the piece of parchment that Narcissa Malfoy gave her and handed it to Harry. He glanced at it in puzzlement and looked up to her, waiting for an explanation. "She gave that to me after I told her that I am an Auror investigating her son's reappearance, she said it wasn't _safe _to talk to her there so she gave me that address to meet her at a cafe tomorrow at 11am," she begun to explain. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting that but I expect she wants to talk to me about Malfoy himself."

Harry glanced at Hermione's neutral expression for a moment before he spoke, "That's…rather odd. What did she mean by 'wasn't safe'?" Hermione only shook her head as if saying she doesn't know before walking back to her seat.

She started packing her files and paperwork, "I'll find out tomorrow but first, I have to go and find out what exactly is the 'An Anthology of Eighteen Century Potions' as apparently, Malfoy was looking for it in Flourish & Bolts." Harry stood up and walked along side with her as she walked to the Atrium Hall. There were few passersby staring and directly pointing at Hermione and Harry, probably still gossiping about her and Ron's breakup. She nearly shouted at them for being so intrusive but managed to gain control to stop herself from the possible embarrassment. She hugged Harry when they reached the fireplaces, "I'll see you tomorrow, Harry. Get some sleep, really." He gave her a nod and a slight smile before she flooed back to her and Ginny's apartment.

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A/N: Maybe Draco is making a potion to destroy all the muggle-borns and half-blood wizards and witches? Or possibly finding a way to revive Voldemort? Reviews, please! I promise I will try to be faster at publishing the chapters (hopefully).


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